Calls for the resignation of the government led by Edi Rama have brought university students, school pupils, professors and pensioners onto the streets of Tirana. For university students, unaffordable education costs and government corruption are the reasons for protesting, while the government’s resignation remains their main demand.
Të lidhura
None found
The student protest has entered its fourth day and spread beyond the capital to other cities in Albania. Students are boycotting classes at universities in Tirana and several other cities, joined by pupils from some of the capital’s high schools.
In Tirana, the aftermath of the clashes is visible in public buildings damaged by fire, shattered shop windows, looted stores and streets littered with stones and burned rubbish bins. During the anti-government protest on October 15, 2026, clashes between demonstrators and police also involved a kiosk being set on fire as a person walked nearby.
According to the authorities, dozens of people have been injured in confrontations between police and groups of protesters, most of whom wore masks. The same sources say most of those injured are police officers. Tear gas and water cannons have been used to disperse crowds.
The authorities report that 160 protesters were detained on the evening of October 15 alone. Nevertheless, after four days of rallies and clashes with police, students say they are determined to take to the streets again.
Blerta, who studies at the Faculty of Economics in Tirana, tells Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that students have been left with no other option. She describes the difficulties faced by a young person who, despite working, cannot cover living and education costs, while their concerns go unheard and they feel mistreated.
According to Blerta, a degree loses its value when meritocracy is absent. She says employment opportunities are reserved for the children of politicians, public administration employees and oligarchs.
The discontent driving citizens to protest extends beyond the student generation. University lecturers have also come out in support of young people, including Lush Susaj, a professor at the Agricultural University of Tirana. He says he is participating both for the students he has taught and for all those who have been forced to leave Albania.
To illustrate his concern, Susaj tells RFE/RL about a female student who completed a research master’s degree with excellent results and now makes byrek pastries at a business in a Tirana neighbourhood. For the professor, this is a painful reality.
Susaj links this situation to political influence in schools and universities and the exclusion of merit from hiring. He says that without the support of the governing party, it is impossible to secure a job at these institutions because the party controls decision-making.
The professor says a student may graduate with high marks, but the job goes to a party patronage operative, even when that person lacks the necessary skills and qualifications. He considers the current situation a product of poor governance, corruption and nepotism, stressing that students are not responsible. He says young people have the right to protest and that their outburst of anger was to be expected.
Also taking part in the protests is pensioner Syrja Xhani, a former member of the National Circus troupe. Xhani, who was one of the organisers of opposition to the demolition of the National Theatre in 2020, says he has been protesting against the Rama government for 140 days.
Opposition to the government has brought citizens onto the streets for months. The rallies were initially sparked by the controversial tourism project in Zvërnec, in Vlora, linked to Jared Kushner. In the protesters’ view, this and other projects demonstrate that politicians prioritise their own interests over those of citizens, disregarding the public interest.
Xhani tells RFE/RL that while those in power accumulate fabulous wealth, citizens have to calculate every expense to survive. After all his years of work, he is unhappy with the pension he receives and says he faces a choice between buying medicine and food.
For Xhani, this protest should have begun earlier. Another pensioner standing beside him, who declines to be identified, says their generation also bears responsibility for the country’s situation and should join the students every day.
He sees his generation’s failure to overthrow communism and uproot it as a mistake. He says that even if they must face the consequences, they should remain in the square for their children, as turning back is no longer an option.
For the students and other citizens involved in the rallies, escalation remained the only way to draw attention to their demands. Student activist Aurel Kujtimi attributes the worsening situation to the government’s arrogance.
Kujtimi says that instead of being heard, citizens were met with mockery and contempt. He holds the government responsible for the escalation and says violence by the State Police against young people further fuels their anger.
The activist expresses regret over the damage small businesses have suffered during the protest. He does not take the same view of large businesses, which he says have ties to those in power and have benefited from citizens’ taxes.
On Friday, photographs circulated on social media showing businesses that had placed white sheets of paper at their entrances. In messages written on them, the owners expressed support for the students and asked them not to damage their businesses.
Prime Minister Edi Rama presented a different view in a video posted on Facebook on Friday. He said the protests had nothing to do with citizens’ legitimate concerns and aspirations for better living conditions.
Without identifying whom he was referring to, Rama accused foreign actors of inciting unrest with the aim, he said, of obstructing Albania’s progress towards European Union membership. A day before the video was published, he had told Reuters that he would not resign.
Protests in the capital continued on October 16. Footage from that day also showed a protester addressing police officers during the anti-government rally.
Lush Susaj believes the handling of the protest has contributed to its escalation and accuses police of using violence against participants. He recounts that on the first day the situation intensified, he was outside the Ministry of Education.
According to the professor, after tear gas was used, he went into an alley with his students to help them. Susaj says police officers came to strike the young people even though they were lying on the ground, but withdrew after seeing and recognising him.
He describes the police’s conduct over these days as unprofessional. In his view, young people have built up considerable resentment towards the government, and police violence against them explains the reaction that follows.
The EU Delegation to Albania has condemned the increase in violence and damage to public and private property, while calling on protesters to exercise restraint. It has called on police to ensure that their use of force is proportionate.
The delegation has also called for priority investigations into allegations of excessive force against protesters and journalists. For its part, the police have warned that officers will be held accountable for any actions exceeding their authority, while the Ombudsman has begun examining whether the force used against protesters was proportionate.
Beyond the aftermath on the streets, the clashes have raised concerns for children attending schools near the protest sites. Elona Gjylmi, a journalist with more than 20 years of experience and the mother of a child who attends school near the Ministry of Education, says she supports the protests and understands the young people’s anger. However, she is concerned about pupils’ exposure to tear gas.
Gjylmi explains that her child’s school is about 100 metres from the Ministry of Education, which makes her particularly concerned as a parent. She says only six children had attended classes that day and that their parents had picked them up before lessons ended.
She says the Ministry of Education should temporarily suspend classes at schools near institutions attacked during the protest, as children are being exposed to large amounts of gas and chemicals.
The protesters are calling for political dialogue to begin and see Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation as the way out of the crisis. They are also demanding the formation of a technocratic government and the holding of early elections.
